LifeMap Certification

LifeMap Certification is designed to support all faculty members, full-time and part-time, as they expand their knowledge and integration of LifeMap and College Success Skills with the goal of enhanced student learning. To attain this certification, faculty will complete 32 hours of foundational courses and 4 hours of electives.

LifeMap: Essential Competency of a Valencia Educator

Valencia educators will design learning opportunities that promote student life skills development while enhancing discipline learning. Through intentional inclusion of growth-promoting strategies, faculty will facilitate the students' gradual assumption of responsibility for making informed decisions and formulating and executing their educational, career, and life plans.

In demonstration of this Essential Competency, the faculty member will:

Foundational Courses (32 Hours)

*The Foundational Courses must be taken in a specific sequence and have required prerequisites. Participants will take the required foundational courses as a cohort. Please refer to the cohort schedule above.

To begin the certification you must register for the Fundamentals of LifeMap course first. By registering for that course you are confirming your intent to participate in the selected cohort. You will be manually registered for the remaining courses by the faculty development staff.

LifeMap is Valencia's name for a developmental advising system designed to increase students' social and academic integration, development of education and career plans, and the acquisition of study and life skills. LifeMap describes the ideal progression of a student in a five-stage model. This course provides the LifeMap conceptual framework including an in-depth review of the developmental theories on which LifeMap was created. In addition, the course will focus on the learner-centered advising strategies utilizing LifeMap concepts and tools. NOTE: This course is required for the LifeMap Certification program and must be taken first in the series of required courses. Participants will take the required courses as a cohort.

Faculty from all disciplines who are committed to enhancing student learning will benefit from this interactive, project-based course. Participants will develop the knowledge and strategies to effectively infuse college success skills into student- learning experiences and will view examples from Valencia experts who successfully infuse these strategies. Note: This course is required for the LifeMap Certification program.
Participants will take the required courses as a cohort. Please refer to the cohort schedule below.

This LifeMap Certificate Capstone course is designed as the last course within the LifeMap Certification Program and involves the completion of a LifeMap Infusion Project. Participants will be asked to integrate what they learned about the LifeMap model, developmental advising, LifeMap Tools, and LifeMap College Success Skills into a learning opportunity for one of their courses. Participants will study LifeMap infusion examples and develop learning outcomes and assessments for their own discipline. The faculty will implement the project and assess results during the current term (participants must be teaching in the term registered for this course). Each faculty member will share the project and the results in implementation and student learning.
Participants will take the required courses as a cohort. Please refer to the cohort schedule below.Note: This course is required for the LifeMap Certification Program . Participants must successfully complete the following required prerequisites prior to enrolling in this course: Fundamentals of LifeMap (LFMP3339, previously LFMP3340 and LFMP3341), Infusing College Success Skills (LFMP3344) and a minimum of 4 hours of LifeMap electives coursework.

Electives (a minimum of 4 Hours)

StrenghtsQuest in this introductory course, participants will develop an understanding of the principles of strenghts-based education. Through self-discovery, participants will explore their talents, and as a result, learn how to assist facilitate students' discovery of talents. Participants will receive an overview of Gallup's research, explore strategies that can be implemented to maximize students' talents, and discuss ways to infuse strengths-based development into an environment that supports wellbeing among students, staff, and faculty. NOTE: This is an elective course for the LifeMap program.

Learning communities are regarded as a high impact educational practice that has shown to be beneficial to college students from many backgrounds. This course will review the foundation of Valencia's LinC initiative, along with providing the necessary guidelines and strategies to build community in the classroom and implement integrated learning with two or more joined courses. The course will help you design a joint syllabus with a faculty partner from another discipline and partner with a Success Coach to support student learning. Successful completion of this course is required to teach a LinC course. NOTE: This is an elective course in the Seneff and LifeMap Certification programs.

This online course focuses on practical strategies and techniques to enhance students' reading and writing skills in any course. Participants will develop and revise a plan for implementation of these strategies. NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

In this course, participants will discuss and apply strategies for helping students to understand motivation and how it influences their thoughts and behaviors. Participants will read Daniel Pink's Drive as background for the discussions. In registering for this course, you are committing to attend two (2) meetings, read the book, and develop one activity/lesson on motivation. NOTE: This is an elective course for the LifeMap Certification and Seneff Certification programs.

Step by Step is an interactive, faculty-led session required for faculty who will be teaching SLS 1122 Student Success. Step by Step focuses on the four key elements of the SLS 1122 course: Self Discovery, Study Skills, Academic Planning, and Career Exploration. You will learn how to design a classroom learning community that focuses on integrated, active learning, and learn how to assess how students integrate their learning into their other courses, through the completion of the SLS 1122 Learning Portfolio. NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

This course will help prepare faculty to teach the New Student Experience Course (SLS1122). Participants will learn about course curriculum, effective teaching strategies, and resources related to the course.

Faculty will learn how Supplemental Learning (SL) is used at Valencia to enhance student learning through SL strategies such as facilitated learning, the integration of college success skills with course material, and group activities. This interactive course focuses on the essentials of SL, as well as strategies for integrating SL into your course and creating a dynamic partnership with the SL Leader to facilitate learning.
Participation in this course does not guarantee a faculty member will be able to teach a course enhanced by SL. SL is currently focused on Introduction to Statistics, Intermediate Algebra, College Mathematics, Freshman Composition I and II, General Chemistry I and General Biology I. NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

This is an interactive session for faculty who will be teaching SLS 1101 College Survival Skills within the Bridges to Success program. Faculty will learn about the Bridges to Success program, active learning, and the four key elements of the SLS 1101 curriculum: Financial Empowerment, Health, Community Service, and Etiquette. NOTE: This course is required for all faculty who teach SLS 1101 College Survival Skills to Bridges students. Attendance at this session does not guarantee a teaching opportunity, as enrollment is dependent on the Bridges department. This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

This session is designed for faculty who will be teaching SLS 1201 Personal Development, a course that focuses on the process of understanding personal responsibility and getting on course to success. Faculty will explore this engaging curriculum, learn about the Bridges to Success program, and engage in active learning activities they can use in the classroom. NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

A reading circle discussion of a selected text on LifeMap. Participants will be expected to engage with the text and with each other, as well as being willing to try new techniques with their students and report back to the discussion about their results. (Variable credits; course may be repeated for credit.) NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program and the Seneff Certification program.

This course is designed to help participants learn more about campus Learning Support Services available to students. This course will benefit faculty members from all disciplines. NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

Faculty will learn about Valencia's early alert approach, which focuses on student and faculty interactions. The course will improve student learning by developing faculty sensitivity to academic and non-academic needs within their classes. Faculty will learn various resources available to support their students' needs. They will have the opportunity to develop early alert strategies to improve student learning. With increased awareness of student support resources and practice with human-led early alert strategies, faculty will be better equipped to develop responsive approaches to learning within their classes.
NOTE: Please be aware this course was redesigned in 2017 from a 20 PD mixed mode course to a 10 PD Online course.

Students are faced with many challenges such as balancing academics, work, and personal life. This course focuses on identifying warning signs of students experiencing emotional distress and understanding best practices for providing support and referrals. In addition, faculty will learn about the related resources/services helpful to distressed students such as BayCare and Valencia's counselors. Participants will engage in discussions in order to better understand how to help students in distress and when to make an appropriate referral. These conversations may include student experiences related to self-harm, abuse, suicide, violence, post-traumatic stress and mental health.NOTE: This is an elective in the LifeMap Certification.

This course will review the LifeMap tools and resources available to support students in completing their career and educational goals. Participants will determine and explore potential uses and design an activity which integrates one of the LifeMap tools.NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

Over 2 two-hour meetings, participants will discuss and apply the concepts of Paul and Elder's critical thinking model outlined in Gerald Nosich's book Learning to Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines. The text offers both a practical model that can be applied to any discipline as well as exercises and activities for teaching students how to think more critically. Each participant will receive a copy of the book after registering. In registering for this course, you are committing to attend two meetings, read the book, and integrate the model into one activity/lesson in your class. NOTE: This is an elective course in the LifeMap Certification program.

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